The August issue of Astronomy magazine contains two special articles. For those who have not seen or read them yet, I want to share them with you here — because they are important to the future of astronomy as an interest.
The first was written by 14-year-old astronomy enthusiast Ayla Besemer, an energetic young lady who travels the globe with her parents on a ship (see threeatsea.com) and is very devoted to observing the sky. Ayla penned a great story about why astronomy interests her as a teenager, and why others her age should pick up the flag and discover the universe around them.
I encourage you to share “
Why teens should care about astronomy” with parents and with teenagers to show them that reality can be pretty interesting, too, during those breaks from X-box.
A second story, by
Astronomy magazine Associate Editor Bill Andrews, tackles the complex situation we have with science education in the world these days, and particularly in the United States. Bill’s article description says it all: “Test scores are down, ignorance is rampant, disinformation is everywhere, and nobody seems to care.”
Please read Bill’s story, “
What happened to science education?” Future leadership, economic stability, progress in industry, exploration, and knowledge of the universe around us all crucially depend on society advancing and expanding education in science for the next generation. You can do a young person a huge favor for their future by convincing them of it.
I would be delighted to hear what you think of these two stories. Email me at
editor@astronomy.com.